kimbur96
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2015
- Messages
- 194
In scuba diving a thumbs up is a sign to surface and end the dive. As the dives get deeper and more technical and especially in cave diving anyone can thumb a dive at anytime for any reason without question by the other team members. Everyone exits together. It is thought this helps prevent accidents by preventing divers from going on when things just aren't right without fear of repercussion.
Another widely accepted rule is the rule of threes. If three things break or go wrong during a dive you end the dive. Most fatalities are caused by cascading events not a single event.
Today I thumbed my backpacking trip based on the rule of threes. The plan was to back pack From the Hollowell Park TH to the Mill Creek Basin campsite. Then after setting up camp I planned to day hike around Beirstadt Lake. I got to RMNP got my permit and headed out.
1) Car alarm. I've never winter backpacked so I was laden with gear. It took me a good 10 minutes to gear up at the TH: Fleece shirt, Down Jacket, Hard shell,Gaiters, Microspikes, Backpack. It was 15F and windy so I had all my layers on. I grabbed my trekking poles and hit the trail. A good half mile or more down the trail I couldn't remember if I had locked the car. For the life of me I couldn't say either way. Not a horrible thing except I had left my wallet in the glove box so I wouldn't loose it on the trail. The permit on my dashboard would indicate i'd be gone overnight for any thieves that might be by later. I tried to convince myself it would be fine. What are the odds that someone would try the door? I pressed on but it nagged at me.
2) The weird guy. This could be all paranoia and the result of being raised by a cop who worked gang units for years or it could be this guy was a threat.
When I parked at the TH I was the only car there. It was approximately a 2 mile hike in to my assigned campsite. About 2/3's of the way in I encountered a man coming down the trail. He had no trekking poles, a very small pack on, no snowshoes or microspikes. I knew there were no cars at the TH so I couldn't figure out where he'd be going. We passed and I continued on. 2-3 tenths of a mile from the campsite the trail splits and eventually joins itself again in .3 of a mile. I stayed to the left and then when the trail joined itself again I figured out I needed to go down the other branch of the loop to reach the campsite.
As I got to the sign for the turn off for the campsite he comes the same guy only now he is carry a 5ft walking stick. For him to be there that means that after he passed me he turned around and looped back following my path. I was just standing there trying to figure out where the campsite was. He passed me and about 10 yards down the trail tuned around and passed by me again. By now I am quite unsettled by his behavior. He has now seen me 3 times so it's obvious I am alone.
3) Can't get to the campsite. After two hours of hiking I got to the sign that pointed of into the trees as being where the campsite was. There was no visible trail, no foot prints. There was supposed to be a privy so I looked for a rooftop or building. I couldn't see anything. I had worked hard to get where I was so I headed off in the direction the sign pointed. The snow was up to my knees and quickly I sank to my waist. Then I fell forward onto my ungloved hands. My hands had been sweaty earlier so I had taken my gloves off. Well crap...this isn't going to work. I also know from the map there is a creek here and I don't need to fall into icy water I can't see. After falling a couple of more times and realizing I would not be able to get to the campsite. That's 3 I said to myself. I post holed and crawled back to the trail and headed back to my car.
On the way out I considered trying to secure a site at the campground. I decided to get to my car, eat and get warm and then decide. At my car I took my pack off and began to peel off the layers. I was soaked. I hadn't felt hot or overheated but I had sweated through multiple layers of clothing. It was supposed to get down to 5F tonight and wet clothes was no go for staying. I chalked it all up to learning and headed home to hike another day.
The things that went right or worked well: microspikes, gaiters and delorme. These were all brand new to me and my first time using them and they were all awesome. The delorme connected to my phone via bluetooth allowed me to see myself on a topo map in real time that was great when i was trying to find the campsite. The microspikes were flawless, no slipping at all on the pack snow and ice. And the gaiters were a great choice until i got in the really deep stuff.
4 miles in the snow with a 28# pack was a workout. I will sleep well tonight. Here's a few pics from the hike.
somewhere in there is the campsite supposedly
My only wildlife encounter today.
Another widely accepted rule is the rule of threes. If three things break or go wrong during a dive you end the dive. Most fatalities are caused by cascading events not a single event.
Today I thumbed my backpacking trip based on the rule of threes. The plan was to back pack From the Hollowell Park TH to the Mill Creek Basin campsite. Then after setting up camp I planned to day hike around Beirstadt Lake. I got to RMNP got my permit and headed out.
1) Car alarm. I've never winter backpacked so I was laden with gear. It took me a good 10 minutes to gear up at the TH: Fleece shirt, Down Jacket, Hard shell,Gaiters, Microspikes, Backpack. It was 15F and windy so I had all my layers on. I grabbed my trekking poles and hit the trail. A good half mile or more down the trail I couldn't remember if I had locked the car. For the life of me I couldn't say either way. Not a horrible thing except I had left my wallet in the glove box so I wouldn't loose it on the trail. The permit on my dashboard would indicate i'd be gone overnight for any thieves that might be by later. I tried to convince myself it would be fine. What are the odds that someone would try the door? I pressed on but it nagged at me.
2) The weird guy. This could be all paranoia and the result of being raised by a cop who worked gang units for years or it could be this guy was a threat.
When I parked at the TH I was the only car there. It was approximately a 2 mile hike in to my assigned campsite. About 2/3's of the way in I encountered a man coming down the trail. He had no trekking poles, a very small pack on, no snowshoes or microspikes. I knew there were no cars at the TH so I couldn't figure out where he'd be going. We passed and I continued on. 2-3 tenths of a mile from the campsite the trail splits and eventually joins itself again in .3 of a mile. I stayed to the left and then when the trail joined itself again I figured out I needed to go down the other branch of the loop to reach the campsite.
As I got to the sign for the turn off for the campsite he comes the same guy only now he is carry a 5ft walking stick. For him to be there that means that after he passed me he turned around and looped back following my path. I was just standing there trying to figure out where the campsite was. He passed me and about 10 yards down the trail tuned around and passed by me again. By now I am quite unsettled by his behavior. He has now seen me 3 times so it's obvious I am alone.
3) Can't get to the campsite. After two hours of hiking I got to the sign that pointed of into the trees as being where the campsite was. There was no visible trail, no foot prints. There was supposed to be a privy so I looked for a rooftop or building. I couldn't see anything. I had worked hard to get where I was so I headed off in the direction the sign pointed. The snow was up to my knees and quickly I sank to my waist. Then I fell forward onto my ungloved hands. My hands had been sweaty earlier so I had taken my gloves off. Well crap...this isn't going to work. I also know from the map there is a creek here and I don't need to fall into icy water I can't see. After falling a couple of more times and realizing I would not be able to get to the campsite. That's 3 I said to myself. I post holed and crawled back to the trail and headed back to my car.
On the way out I considered trying to secure a site at the campground. I decided to get to my car, eat and get warm and then decide. At my car I took my pack off and began to peel off the layers. I was soaked. I hadn't felt hot or overheated but I had sweated through multiple layers of clothing. It was supposed to get down to 5F tonight and wet clothes was no go for staying. I chalked it all up to learning and headed home to hike another day.
The things that went right or worked well: microspikes, gaiters and delorme. These were all brand new to me and my first time using them and they were all awesome. The delorme connected to my phone via bluetooth allowed me to see myself on a topo map in real time that was great when i was trying to find the campsite. The microspikes were flawless, no slipping at all on the pack snow and ice. And the gaiters were a great choice until i got in the really deep stuff.
4 miles in the snow with a 28# pack was a workout. I will sleep well tonight. Here's a few pics from the hike.
somewhere in there is the campsite supposedly
My only wildlife encounter today.
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